Method of and apparatus for assembling articles



Agar-i128, 1942. E. BERTALAN ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING ARTICLES Filed June 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

I37 m I m E. BERTALAN L.J. MOELLE'R Y E N R 0 T T A April 28, 1942. E. BERTALAN' ETAL METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR ASSEMBLING ARTICLES 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed June 5,v 1940 FIG. 3

INVENTORS E'. EERTALAN L.J. MOELL El? A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 28, 1942 reins UITED ST METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR AS SEIVIBLING ARTICLES Edward Bertalan, Glen Arm, and Lowell J. Moeller, Towson, Md, assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y.,

32 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for assembling articles, and more particularly to a method of and apparatus for assembling nuts and washers on bolts.

Certain requirements are felt important in automatically assembling internally threaded articles such as nuts on externally threaded articles such as bolts, these requirements being, first, the centering of the articles one with the other, second, maintaining of this relationship of the articles during relative movement thereof into engagement with each other, and finally, aligning of the axes of the parts before they can properly be assembled. Other requirements are added to these when it is desirable .to include another article in the assemblysuch as a washer. These requirements include movement of the nut and washer in timed relation into superposed relationship, holding them thus during thecentering step and releasing them simultaneously for alignment with the bolt.

Objects of the invention are to provide asimple, efficient and practical method of and apparatus for assembling articles, particularly nuts and washers, on bolts.

With this and other objects in view, one embodiment of the invention comprises a method of feeding articles, such as nuts and washers, from opposite directions into superposed relationship over another article, such as a bolt, passing 5 a guide through the first mentioned articles to guide them into engagement with the remaining article and causing relative rotation of the articles to cause assembling thereof,

The apparatus by means of which the method may be practised comprises 'a reciprocable element, such as a rotatable wrench, operatively connected to article feeding units to feed articles, such as nuts and washers, in timed relation with respect to each other into superposed positions over another article such as a bolt, and a centering member movable with the element to center the first mentioned articles with the remaining article prior to the engagement of the element to cause relative rotation of the articles and thus cause assembling thereof.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus, portions thereof being shown in section;

Fig.2 is a vertical elevational view of the appa- .ratus, portions 'thereoi being shown in scfition;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the rotary element or wrench;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the latched position of a portion of the article feeding means.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 and 2, the apparatus-comprises a base I and a vertical frame H having guideways l2 and I3 thereon. Guideway 12 provides a support for a table It upon which work such as that indicated at l5 may be disposed. An adjustable support It is also provided for the table l4 and consists mainly of an adjusting screw I l rotatably supported by the base IE3 at l8 and actuated through a nut (not shown) and shaft H! by the aid of a handle 20.

The upper guideway l3 supports a laterally projecting bracket 23, the latter being adjustably secured in a selected position on the guideway by suitable means indicated at 24. The bracket 23 has a suitable bearing 25 at the upper end thereof for slidably supporting a quill 26, the lat- 'ter being also slidably supported in a bearing 21 of a bracket 28 formed integral with the frame I l. Teeth 33 formed on the quill 23 interengage a pinion 3| mounted on a shaft 32 rotatably supported by the bracket 23. A lever 34 has its inner end fixed to the shaft 32 and carries an arm 35 upon which a weight 36 is mounted in any desired adjusted position. The outer end of the lever 34 is connected to a foot treadle 38 by means of a link 38. The foot treadle 38 is pivotably supported at 49 and is normally urged upwardly by the weight 36, the lever 34 and the link 39 and also by a spring 41, one end of which is fixed to the treadle while the other is fixed to a bracket 42 mounted on the base ill.

The quill .26 is hollow and has a spindle 43 ex tending therethrough and rotated by suitable power means including a belt 44 and a pulley 45.

A chuck 48 is mounted upon the lower end of the spindle and is of a suitable type conditioned to receive and hold a shank 49 of an element such as a wrench 50.

The wrench is shown in detail in Fig. 3 and consists of a housing 5| rotatably supported at the lower end of the shank 49, and has an inwardly projecting annular shelf 52 for supporting a clutch member 53. The clutch member is held against rotation relative to the housing 5.! by a screw 54 carried by the housing and having a reduced end extending into an elongate slot 55 in the clutc e ber. A co p ssion spring 5i disposed between the shelf 52 and the clutch member 53 normally urges the latter downwardly to move teeth 51 of the clutch member out of engagement with teeth 58 carried by the shank 49. With this construction the wrench may be caused to rotate with the shank when the teeth 51 and 58 are interengaged. The clutch member 53 has a head 60 of the wrench threadedly connected to the lower end thereof and is recessed at BI to receive an inner projection of a centering member or pin 62 and at 63 to receive a compression spring 64 which abuts against a shoulder 65 of the centering pin to normally urge the latter downwardly. The centering pin extends through an aligning member 68 which is slidably disposed in the head and normally urged downwardly by a spring 69 in a path always centered with the centering pin and the wrench. The head 59 is recessed, at ID, to receive a nut such as those indicated at H (Figs. 1 and 5), with radially projecting notches I2 for readily receiving the edges of the nuts. The lower end of the guide pin is conical in shape, as indicated at I3, and conditioned to be received in a conical recess in the end of an article such as a bolt I5 shown in Fig. 1.

The wrench 50 may be moved toward or away from the article, namely the bolt I5 carried by the work I5, through the actuation of the treadle 38. Means are provided to feed the nuts 'II and washers 80 singly and in timed relation into superposed positions during the upward movement of the wrench so as to be positioned for assembling on a bolt when the wrench is moved downwardly. Therefore, a nut feeding unit, indicated generally at BI, and a washer feeding unit, indicated generally at 82, are supported by a U-shaped bracket 83 and a cross-member 84 mounted upon and extending horizontally from the frame II.

The washer feeding unit 82 includes a hopper 85 for the washers supported by a base portion 83 of an L-shaped bracket 81, the latter being mounted upon the main bracket 83, Two slide members 99 and 9| are disposed in superposed positions on the base portion 86 and guided in their movements by an aperture 92 in the base portion into which they extend. The slide 90 has a notched forward portion 93 positioned beneath the stack of washers in the hopper and providing a shoulder 94 conditioned to engage the lowermost washer and remove it from beneath the stack when the slide 90 is moved toward the aligning position. The notch in the portion 93 is of sufiicient size to straddle the centering pin I52. The outer portion of the slide 90 is notched to receive the lower end of an arm 96, the latter also being provided with a notch 9! which straddles a pin 98 in the said outer portion to cause movement of the slide 99 when the arm is rotated about its supporting shaft 99. The outer end of the slide 90 also carries a threaded member I supporting a pair of stop nuts II for engagement with a vertically projecting portion I92 of the slide 9I apertured for the passage of the threaded member I00 therethrough. The inner end of the slide 9| is enlarged, as at I04, and notched, at I05, to straddle the bolt I and serve to locate the bolt in alignment with the centering pin 62. A spring I66 is mounted upon the shaft 99 and conditioned to urge the shaft, through the arm 96, counterclockwise (Fig. 1). A bellcrank lever ID'I is also mounted upon the shaft 99 and moved therewith. One end of the lever I01 carries a pin I08 to provide operative connection between the lever and an elongate slot I09 of the lower end IIil of a link III. This portion of the link carries a rod H2 which projects upwardly into a hollow upper portion I I3, where the rod is urged inwardly by a spring H4. The link, therefore, is expansible and has its upper end pivotably connected, at H5, to the outer shell of a bearing H6. The bearing H6 is mounted upon the shank 49, providing an inner race which may rotate with the shank and an outer race or shell supporting the link III, the outer shell being held against rotation by an integral lug H8 slidably disposed in a guideway II9.

Returning to the bellcrank lever IiJ'I, attention is directed to Figs. 1 and 5, wherein the inner edge of the upper arm of this lever is flattened for engagement with a latch IZI' conditioned to hold the operating members of each of the units 3! and 82 in operative positions until the wrench is lowered and the ejected nut and washer aligned with the bolt. The latch I2I is somewhat of the bellcrank lever type, having one projection positioned to be engaged by the bellcrank lever I 0'! and another projection conditioned to be engaged by a shoulder or projection I22 of the lower portion I'IO of the link H I. The latch I2I is pivotally supported, at I23, upon an arm I24 mounted upon the bracket 83 and is urged clockwise against a pin I25 by a spring The unit BI includes a hopper I for the nuts 'II, the hopper communicating with a passageway or chute I3I where the nuts will pass sidewise downwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The portion of the hopper including the passageway also has an integral projection I32 including the guideway H9. A resilient retaining member I34 is mounted upon a plate I35, forming a wall of part of the passageway I3I', and has a conicalshaped retainin member I 36 conditioned to project through an aperture in the plate I and successively enter the threaded aperture of the nuts as they move downwardly in the passageway. An aperture I3! is also formed in the plate I35 adjacent the lower end thereof and in alignment with an actuating rod I38 conditioned to project its forward end through the aperture I 31 and move the resilient member I34 a suflicient distance to remove the conical-shaped retaining member I35 from the nut in which it is disposed.

The rod I38 has a piston-like portion I39 slidably disposed in a cylindrical aperture I40, while the inner end, that is, the end to the left (Fig. 1) projects through a vertical portion I of a feeding slide I42 and is then provided with adjusting nuts I43 which control the movement of the rod in one direction. A collar I44 mounted upon the rod I38 and adjustably secured thereto is positioned to be engaged by the projection I4I of the slide after the slide has been moved a selected distance.

The slide I42 is guided by a groove I45, the lower wall of which projects inwardly to provide a support I46 for an ejected nut. A curved surface I4! at the lower end of the passageway I3I provides means for turning the nut from the endwise' or vertical position in the passageway to the horizontal position on the support I46. The slide I42 is operatively connected to the upper arm of the bellcrank lever by a pair of links I50 and I5I, the former being pivotably supported at I52 and having its lower end notched to engage a pin I53 carried by the portion I4I of the slide I42, while the link I5I has one end =connected to the .bellcrank'lever 'I-UTand the other end formed into a hook, as at I56, to engage a pin i5! mounted substantially mid-way the ends of the link 150.

In the operation -of the apparatus the hoppers 85 and 130 are =lcept filled with washers and nuts respectively, :so that they may be fed singly from their respective "hoppers into superposed positions andbe aligned with bolt 35 of work 15 "disposed upon the table 14.

Theappa'ratus as shown in Fig. 1 illustrates the position of the various elements at the point when the centering pin -62 has become seated in the conical end of the bolt and the latch I21 has been released to allow the spring N35 to move the slides 90 and 91 to the right free of the washer and :nut, which at this point are disposed concentric with the locating pin. The washer and nut are shown in'the positions in which they were disposed by their respective slides for the purpose of illustration, but in actual practise when the slides :are retracted the washer will drop "around the bolt and the nut will drop until it rests on the bolt. This portion of the operation has been accomplished by partial downward movement of the treadle 38 against the force of the spring 4-! and the weight 36 to move the link 39 downwardly, rocking the lever 34 to cause the pinion 3| and its engagement with the teeth30tomove the quill 26 downwardly,vmoving with it the spindle 43, the chuck 48, the shank 49 and the bearing H6 relative to the guideway H9, thus moving the wrench 50 and the locating pin 62 downwardly. By further movement of the treadle downwardly the wrench will be lowered, causing the aligning member 68 to engage the nut, which .at this time rests upon thebolt. The aligning member 68 will cause the nut to lay on the bolt .in a plane at right angles to the center line of the bolt and will hold the nut thus until the wrench is lowered further, to cause the nut to be received in the recess ID of the head 60. Therefore, as the wrench is lowered over the nut the spring 69 is compressed to allow continued downward movement of the wrench, while at the same time the spring 64 around the centering pin '62 is also compressed. The 'treadle 38 is moved still further to compress the spring 56 and cause interengagement of the clutch teeth 5'! and 58 to operatively connect the wrench with the continuously rotating shank 49. The nut is then driven onto the bolt, after which the treadle is released and allowed to move upwardly.

During the upward movement of the 'treadle the spring 41 aided 'by the weight 36 will cause the quill 26 with the chuck 48, the shank '49, the wrench 50 and the other associated elements to move upwardly. 'This upward movement of the mechanism just described causes upward movement of the expansible link H! which at a predetermined point during this upward movement starts clockwise movement "of the lever 101 "against the force 'of its spring I06, "to first cause movement of the slide '99 to eject the next washer from the hopper and move this washer on the notched forward portion 93 of the slide to the left, until the washer is centrally aligned with the centering pin 62. The nuts Hll on "the threaded member I carried by the slide 90 engage the vertical projection of the slide 9! and cause movement of the latter with the slide 90 to the locating position. While in this position the notched end I of the slide -9l is of the slide I42.

as ;a guiding means for the bolt 15 and is of sufficient width at its outer end to allow'the nut and washer to be' assembled on the bolt when the slides and 9] have :been returned to their loading positions.

Attention is now directed to the feeding unit :81 which during the previous operation has located a nut H on the support M6 in front of As will be observed by viewing :Fig. 1, the portion 93, which supports the washer, locates the upper surface of the washer in a plane with the support 146 so that the nut H, which is movedinto place on the washer subsequent to the locating of the washer, will also be supported by the portion 93 of the slide 90. The connecting mechanism of the two units 8| and 82 are such that they will be operated in timed relation, first positioning the washer in central alignment with the centering pin 62,

moving the slide SI to locate a bolt in alignunent with the centering Pin and immediately thereafter moving the nut upon the located washer, the latter movement being accomplished through the link l5! which is moved through the :lever [-01 and .moves the link 1250 to move the slide 1-42. The slide 142 is of sufiicient length to move the :nut into an axially aligned position upon the washer. During this movement 'of the slide 142 the vertical portion 14! thereof will engage the collar I 44, moving the mod 138 -forwardly while guided by the piston-like portion [-39 until the -forwardend 0f the .rod passes through the aperture 153! and moves the resilient retaining member 134 to the right a suincien-t distance to withdraw the conical-shaped retaining member 4:36 freeof the nut into which it has projected, allowing this .nut together with all the others above it in the chute to move downwardly a distance equalling "the width of one nut. The nuts in thechute'then rest upon the rod 438 for the completion of the upward movement :of the wrench 50 and the associated mechanism and until the wrench is moved downwardly to the position shown in vFig. 1. The slides 90, 9| and M2 also remain in their inward or locating positions due to the tact that when they reach these positions the lever Hi! :has been moved a isufiicient distance. as shown in :Fig. 5, to be held by the latch LZJ. Therefore, during the upward movement of the wrench and its associated elements including the treadle 38 the feeding units Bi and 8 2 have been operated and latched in positions holding a nut and washer ready to be assembled on a bolt when the operator is desirous of starting another cycle .of operation.

In moving the treadle38downwa1-dly, the centering "pin 52 passes through the located nut *and washer and reaches the bolt so as to provide a positive centering meansfor the nut and washer before they are released by the portion -93 of the slide 90. The moment the centering ipin -52 reaches the !bolt 15 the projection 122 on the lower portion H ll of the ilinklias been moved .into engagement with the latch 'l2| to release the latch as the centering pin engages the' bolt to allow the spring Hi6 to return the feeding members, such as the slides 90. 9| and 142, to

their normal positions, freeing the nut=and wash- :er :for assembly on the belt. When the washer andnuts are :freed the washer will 'drop around the bolt while the nut will drop =on the bolt and beheld there by the centering pin 62. The continued movement of the treadle causes the suchasize and contour at its inner end to serve 7-5 aligning member 58to*axially align the-nut relative to the bolt by positioning it in a plane at right angles to the center line of the bolt, so that the wrench may readily engage the bolt and more important, so that the nut will be in proper position to be readily threaded onto the bolt when the clutch members 51 and 58 operatively connect the wrench to the driving means to drive the nut onto' the bolt.

Returning for the moment to the releasing of the lever I61, through the actuation of the latch I2I, by engagement of the link III, attention is directed to the difference in location of the pin I08 which controls the path of movement of the link in the normal position shown in Fig. 1

and the operated position shown in Fig. 5. In I Fig. 1 the pin I08 is so located that the link may be moved upwardly free of engagement with the latch but during this upward movement the pin is moved with the lever ID! to the latch position (Fig. 5). latch position directs the link III, when moving downwardly, to move in a path so that the projection I22 of the lower portion III) of the link will engage and release the latch I 2|. At this time attention is directed to the rod I38 which was caused to move to the left a short time interval after the slides 90, 9| and I42 began their movements toward their outward or loading positions. The nuts I43 are located so that, after the located nut and washer have been fed to and received by the locating pin, the nut which has previously been released from the comcal retaining member I36 will be freed from its support on the rod I38 and allowed to drop downwardly on the support I46, engaging the I curved surface on its way and being turned to its horizontal position. It should be understood at this point that before the rod I38 has been withdrawn completely from the nut resting thereupon the conical retaining member I36 has entered the nut immediately thereabove to hold this nut and the others in the chute above it against movement.

When the apparatus is at rest, that is, when the treadle 38 has beenreleased and moved to its uppermost position, the slides 90, 9| and I42 have been moved to their innermost or locating positions and held there by the latch I2I, the slide 90 has located its washer in alignment with the centering pin 62 and has received the nut from the support I46 on and concentrically with the washer through the subsequent movement of the slide I42. The slide 9| has been moved to a position to locate a bolt in alignment with the centering pin, and this slide, together with theothers remains latched in this position ready for the assembling operation.

During the assembling operation, which is brought about by the downward movement of the treadle, the centering pin 62 passes through.

the nut and washer and becomes seated on the bolt before the latch I2I is released. The washer then drops downwardly, guided by the centering pin, around the bolt, and the nut comes to rest on the bolt, where it remains centered by the cen- Therefore, the pin I08 in the position'shown in Fig. 1, it may be possible for the nut to be out of true axial or center alignment with the bolt. The aligning member 68, however, engages the nut prior to the completion of the movement of the wrench into the assembling position, so as to definitely align the centers of the nut and bolt so that the nut may be readily received in the recess III of the wrench and will be positioned to be driven on the bolt. The provision of the notches 12 serves to facilitate in the interengagement of the nut and wrench, these notches receiving the sharp edges of the nut which would tend to interfere with the interengagement of the nut and wrench if the notches were not present.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is illustrative onlyand may be widely modified and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited solely by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to move a nut and a washer into superposed positions, means to center the nut and washer with a bolt, and means operable in timed relation with the said moving and centering means to assemble the nut and washer on the bolt.

2. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to move a nut and a washer into superposed positions, means to align the nut with a bolt, and means operable in timed relation with the moving and aligning means to assemble the nut and washer on the bolt.

3. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to position a bolt for assembly, means to position a washer in alignment with the bolt, means to position a nut on the washer, and means operable in timed relation with the other means to assemble the nut and washer on the bolt.

4. An apparatus for assembling articles such as'nuts and washers on bolts comprising a reciprocable assembling element, means to reciprocate the element, and separate means operable in timed relation with each other and the element to locate a nut, a washer and a bolt in alignment with each other and the element for assembly by the element.

5. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and bolts comprising a rotatable wrench, means to move the wrench into and out of assembling position, separate means operable in timed relation with the movement of the wrench to locate a nut and washer for assembly, and means actuable in timed relation with the locating means to center the nut and the bolt one with the other prior to the movement of the wrench into assembling position.

6. An apparatusfor assembling articles such as nuts and bolts comprising a rotatable wrench, means to move the wrench into and out of assembling position, separate means operable in timed relation with the movement of the wrench to locate a nut and washer for assembly, means to center the nut and bolt, and means operable in timed relation with the locating means to align the centers of the nut and bolt prior to the movement of the wrench into assembling position.

7. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable in general alignment with the wrench, an ele-.

ment to locate a washer relative to the bolt, a

member to locate a nut on the washer, means to cause operation with the locating means, element and member in timed relation during movement of the wrench out of assembling position, and a latch to hold the last mentioned means in operated position.

9. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotat able wrench, means to move the wrench into and out of assembling positiornmeans to locate a bolt in general alignment with the wrench, an element to locate a Washer relative to the bolt, a member to locate a nut on the washer, means to cause operation with the locating means, element and member in timed relation during movement of the wrench out of assembling position, a latch to hold the last mentioned means in operated position, and means movable inadvanceof the wrench to center the nut, washer and bolt with each other;

10. An apparatus forassembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench, means'to move the wrench into and out of assembling position, means to locate a bolt in general alignment with the wrench, an element to locate a washer relative to the bolt, a member to locate a nut on the washer; means to cause operation with the locating means element. and member in timed relation during movement of the wrench out of assembling position, a latch to hold the last mentioned means, in operated position, and means to align the nut with the bolt.

11. An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench, means to move the wrench into and out of assembling position, means to locate a bolt in general alignment withv the wrench, an element to locate a washer relative to'the bolt, a member to locate a nut on the washer, mean to cause operation with the locating means, element and member in. timed relation during movement of the wrench out of assembling position, a latch to hold the last, mentioned "means in operated position, means movable in advance of the wrench to center the nut, washer and bolt with each other, and means to align the centers of the nut and bolt. v

12. .An apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench, means to move the wrench into and out of assembling position, means to locate a bolt in general alignment with the wrench, an element to locate a washer relative to thebolt, a member'to locate a nut on the washer, means to cause operation with the locating means, element and member in timed relation during movement of the wrench out of assembling position, a latch to hold the last mentioned means in operated position, means movable in advance of the wrench to center the nut, washer and bolt with each other; and means to release the latch subsequent to the, actuation, of] the centering means to release the locating: means, element and member.

13. An apparatus for assembling articles such as washers andflatrsided nuts having corners on bolts, means to move, a washer, a fiat-sided nut with corners and a bolt into superposed positions, means to align them one with another, and a wrench recessed to receive the nut and grooved to readily receive the corners of the nutfor rotating the nut on the bolt,

14. A method of assembling articles such asv a nut and a washer on a belt which method comprises feeding a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions over a bolt,

passing a guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut, and Washer are spaced from the bolt,

then causing the washer to drop over the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, and bringing a rotating wrench into engagement with the nut over the guide to drive the nut on thebolt.

15. A method of assembling articles such as a,

V nut and a washer on a bolt which method comprises feeding a washer and a nut from opposite directions, intosuperposed positions over a bolt, passing a guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end ofthe bolt while the nut and washer are spaced'from the bolt, then causing the washer to drop over the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, aligning the centers of the nut and bolt, and causing relative rotation of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

16. A method of assembling; articles such as a nut and a washer on a bolt which method comprises feeding a washer and nut from opposite directions into superposed positions, locating a bolt therebeneath, passing a guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut and washer are spaced from the bolt, then causing the washer to dropover the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, and causing relative rotation of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

1-7. A method of. assembling articles such as a nut and a, washer on a bolt which method comprises. feeding a washer and nut from opposite directions into superposed positions, locating a bolt therebeneath, holding the nut and Washer spaced from the bolt, passing a guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while thenut and washer are spaced from the bolt, then causing the washer to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest concentric with the bolt and the nut to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest on the bolt, and bringing a rotating wrench into engagement with the nut over the guid v to drive the nut on the bolt.

18. A method of assembling articles such as a nut. and a washer on a bolt which method comprises. feeding a washer and nut from opposite directions into superposed positions, locating a bolt therebeneath, holding the nut and washer spaced from the bolt, passing a guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut and Washer are spaced from the bolt, then causing the washer to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest concentric with the boltv and the nut to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest on, the bolt, aligning the centers of the nutand bolt, and causing relative rotation of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

19. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to feed a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions over a bolt, a guide, means to pass the guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut and washer are spaced from the bolt, means to cause the Washer to drop over the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, a rotating Wrench, and means to move the wrench into engagement with the nut over the guide to drive the nut on the bolt.

20. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to feed a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions over a bolt, a guide, means to pass the guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut and washer are spaced from the bolt, means to cause the washer to drop over the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, means to align the centers of the nut and bolt, a rotating wrench, and means to move the wrench into enagement with the nut over the guide to drive the nut on the bolt.

21. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to feed a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions, means to locate a bolt therebeneath, a guide, means to pass the guide through the nut and washer and into engagement with the end of the bolt while the nut and washer are spaced from the bolt, means to cause the washer to drop over the end of the bolt and the nut to drop to the bolt and rest thereon, and means to cause relative rotation of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

22. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to feed a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions over a bolt, means to hold the nut and washer spaced from the bolt, a guide, means to actuate the holding means to cause the washer to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest concentric with the bolt and cause the nut to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest on the bolt, a rotating wrench, and means to move the wrench into engagement with the nut over the gu de to drive the nut on the bolt.

23. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising means to feed a washer and a nut from opposite directions into superposed positions, means to locate a bolt therebeneath, a guide, means to actuate the holding means to cause the washer to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest concentric with the bolt and cause the nut to drop concentric with the guide and come to rest on the bolt, means to align the centers of the nut and bolt, a rotating wrench, and means to move the wrench into engagement with the nut over the guide to drive the nut on the bolt.

24. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts on bolts comprising means to locate a bolt, means to move a nut to a position above the bolt, a support for the nut thus positioned, a guide movable through the supported nut and in contact with the bolt to center the nut with the bolt, means to move the support free of the nut for movement of the nut by gravity concentric with the guide and to rest on the bolt, and means to cause relative movement of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

25. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts on bolts comprising means to locate a bolt, means to move a nut to a position above the bolt, a support for the nut thus positioned, a guide movable through the supported nut and in contact with the bolt to center the nut with the bolt, means to move the support free of the nut for movement of the nut by gravity concen trio with the guide and to rest on the bolt, means to align the centers of the nut and bolt, and

means to cause relative movement of the nut and bolt to cause interengagement thereof.

26. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, and mechanism ac tuable with movement of the wrench away from assembling position to move the said members into feeding positions to locate a nut on a washer for assembly on a bolt.

27. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, mechanism actuable with movement of the wrench away from assembling position to move the said members into feeding positions to locate a nut on a washer for assembly on a bolt, and means to latch the mechanism to hold the members in feeding position for movement of the wrench toward the assembling position.

28. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, mechanism actuable with movement of the wrench away from assembling position to move the said members into feeding positions to locate a nut on a washer for assembly on a bolt, means to latch the mechanism to hold the members in feeding position for movement of the wrench toward the assembling position, and means movable with the wrench into assembling position to release the latching means to cause freeing of the nut and washer for assembly on the bolt.

29. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, a bolt locating member, and mechanism actuable with th wrench away from the assembling position to move the said members to locate a, nut, a washer and a bolt in superposed positions for assembly.

30. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, a bolt locating member, mechanism actuable with the wrench away from the assembling position to move the rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating member, a nut locating member, a bolt locating member, mechanism actuable with the wrench away from the assembling position to move the said members to locate a nut, a washer and a bolt in superposed positions, means to latch the mechanism to hold the members in their superposed positions for movement of the wrench toward the assembling position, and means movable with the wrench into assembling position to release the latching means to cause freeing of the nut and washer for assembly on the bolt.

32. In an apparatus for assembling articles such as nuts and washers on bolts comprising a rotatable wrench movable toward and away from an assembling position, a washer locating memher, a nut locating member, a support for a nut in advance of the nut locating member, a receptacle for a supply of nuts, mechanism actuable with movement of the wrench away from assembling position to move the said members into. feeding positions to locate a nut on a washer for assembly on a bolt, and means actuated by the mechanism to eject nuts singly from the receptacle onto the support during each cycle of movement of the wrench.

EDWARD BERTALAN.

LOWELL J. MOELLER. 

